Harness-pad



(No Model.)

W. A. BATES.

HARNESS PAD.

o. 420,222. Patent-ed Jan. 28, 189-0.

ATTOR/V UN TED STATES ATENT @FFNE.

\VILLARD A. BATES, OF PRINCETON, MAINE.

HARN ESS-PAD.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 420,222, dated January 28, 1890.

Application filed February '7, 1889. Serial No. 299,060. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, WILLARD A. BATES, of Princeton, in the county of \Vashington and State of Maine, have invented a new and Improved Harness-Pad, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to what are termed housing-padsthat is, small pads made separate and complete and afterward buckled or otherwise fastened under the complete gigsaddle, coach or team pad; and the object of the invention is to provide a pad that can be adjusted to fit any horse, and which will adjust itself so that the Whole surface of the pad will bear evenly upon the horse.

The invention consists in inflexible housing-pads united by a flexible connection and provided each with a rocker at or near its transverse center, whereby the said rockers will act against the under side of the saddlepads, to enable the housing-pads to rock in the direction of the ends of the saddle, as hereinafter described and claimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure l is a sectional elevation of my new housing-pad shown applied to the saddle. Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan view of the pad. Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line as at of Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the keeper and supportingstrip to be placed therein.

B represents an ordinary gig-saddle, and A represents my new housing-pad attached to the gig-saddle by the straps O O. The housing-pad as awhole comprises the two pad a C6. These are united by the outer leathe b, a flexible connection between the two housingpads, in addition to which a web a may be provided, if desired. Each pad a is formed of a stiffening-block a, of wood or metal, curved upon its under surface to fit the back of the horse, and the upper surfaces of the stiffening-forms may be made straight or conc'aved, as deemed necessary, depending on the kind of material used and the form of saddle on which it is to be used. These blocks are held between the outer leather a and the lining cl, of felt or other material; but the latter may be omitted, the upper ends being held together by the outer leather, in which case of course the wooden or outer pad a would bear direct on the horses back. Across each block a is secured a keeper D, formed with loops f f, to receive the straps C, by which the housing-pad is secured to the gigsaddle. These keepers may each be made in two parts, as shown in Fig. 4:, if desired. Each keeper is adapted to receive and retain a cross-piece E, of leather, wood, or metal, being provided for this purpose with the check or corner pieces 72, to receive between them the notched ends h of the piece E. The loops f may extend at right angles to the corner-pieces, if desired. The piece E constitutes a rocker or fulcrum for the pads of the gig-saddle, thus relieving the back of the horse from the friction due to the movement of the gig-saddle, and these pads adjust themselves so that the Whole surface of the pad bears evenly upon the horse, and in use the housing-pad, being secured to the gig-saddle, the latter resting on the rockers, leaves room for the ends of the housing pad to move freely to a position to fit the horse, the whole surface of the pad bearing evenly. If the pad does not fit the horse, one or more of the fulcrum-pieces E are to be used, as required.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a housing-pad, the combination of two inflexible pads united by a flexible connection, and each provided with a raised projection or rocker at or near its transverse center to allow a rocking motion of each pad in the direction of the length of the said housingpad to and from the ends of the saddle-pads, substantially as described.

2. The herein-described inflexible housingpads, adapted to fit beneath an ordinaryharness-saddle and united by a flexible connection and provided with keepers attached transversely to each of said inflexible pads, check-pieces h, and the cross-pieces E, in and cross-pieces held in each keeper, subcombination, substantially as shown andde- 1o stantially as described. scribed. I

3. The herein-described housing-pads, com- 5 prising the two Wooden pads a a, united by WILLARD BATES a flexible connection and having their under Witnesses: surfaces curved to adapt them to a horses DAVID DRESSER, back, the keeper D, formed with loops f and WM. ROBINSON. 

